Bastiaan Stolk
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Bastiaan Stolk was born on July 30, 1986, in Rotterdam. His interest in the organ became apparent at an early age. As a 7-year-old boy, he took his first organ lessons in his then hometown of Oud-Beijerland. At the Music School ‘Hoekse Waard,’ the organist Henk G. van Putten was his mentor. Under his guidance, Bastiaan's enthusiasm for the organ grew. Fascinated by the sounds of the ‘king of instruments,’ he dreamed of one day playing a real pipe organ himself.
His dreams came true in Veenendaal, where he moved in 1997. At the age of 16, Bastiaan accompanied congregational singing for the first time during a church service at the Julianakerk in Veenendaal. Meanwhile, he continued his education at the Music School ‘De Muzen’ in Veenendaal, where Arie Moll became his teacher. In June 2006, he left the music school with the highest possible diploma (D-level) and continued his studies at the monumental Jacobikerk in Utrecht under the guidance of Gerrit Chr. De Gier.
Nowadays, he is regularly heard as an accompanist and soloist at various events and concerts. Bastiaan frequently collaborates at choir evenings with, among others, Minne Veldman, Gerwin van der Plaats, and Martin Mans. In 2017, he started organizing a ‘Traditional’ Christmas concert at the Bovenkerk in Kampen, where he annually plays the beautiful Hinsz organ.
From the spring of 2007, Bastiaan was the organist of the Sionskerk in Veenendaal for several years, and from 2011 to 2019, he was the regular player of the beautiful Vierdag organ in the Oude Kerk in Veenendaal. Since 2017, Bastiaan has been the regular organist of the Reformed Church of Bergschenhoek.
In the spring of 2016, Bastiaan experienced a highlight in his still young musical career. He was named the ‘Best (amateur) organist in the Netherlands.’ The competition for this coveted title was organized by the Evangelical Broadcasting Company.
